Happy Christmas to All
Christmas arrived last week.
A friend (thank you, Beth!) took me to hear The Sixteen at
the lovely St John the Evangelist Church in East Oxford, now a concert venue.
It happened that this formal concert took place on the same day as the Bodleian
carols at the library, which is very informal: the community of scholars
gathers to sing carols and listen to readings, led by a choir and scratch orchestra drawn from the
staff. This year there was a trumpet for the first time, which made for a
spine-tingling finish as we sang the Hallelujah chorus from the Messiah.
Bodley carols always makes my Christmas, but to be able to
listen to The Sixteen in addition was something close to heaven. The end of the
first half of the concert left me in floods of tears—two versions of O
Magnum Mysterium sandwiched around Bethlehem
Down. My friend's eyes also were damp as
she ministered to me with hot mulled wine from a thermos during the interval.
What is it about this musical group that is so deeply
affecting? Perhaps in part it is that the twenty singers have a broad age range
from twenties to ??? fifties? sixties? The span of ages makes for a
particularly rich sound. Perhaps it is the perfection of the singing? Yet the
listener is aware that the music goes far beyond perfection. The group is intensely
human in the best sense. It is never artificial. Spontaneity charges the music
with what I can only characterise as kindly passion. Does the passion give
rise to the perfection or vice versa? The integration in the music of The
Sixteen means that the whole is far, far more than the sum of its parts. The
listener is so caught up that it becomes impossible to analyse either in the
moment or in retrospect. As Beth remarked, Harry Christophers is the sort of
conductor for whom you'd sing your heart out. 'Who sings, prays twice', the hearts of listeners singing silently with the group, mirroring that spontaneous perfection.
And yes, the whole experience was a parable of the
incarnation, which resonates far beyond the musical moment—as does the Feast
itself, far beyond the twelve days of Christmas. It will continue to resonate
as I leave for my retreat in Scotland on January 6. There is no wifi at the
retreat, so this blog will be suspended from that date until late March. I hope
to keep a journal of the retreat, which I will post on my return.
May all of you, Gentle Readers, have a most blessed
Christmas season and every joy in the New Year.
posted by Maggie Ross at 10:36 am
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